Just typical - but how was I to know!!

Booked a transatlantic crossing just over a month ago; flying out in November to New York, 5 nights in a hotel and then home on the QM2; happy with the price

But

This morning an email dropped into my inbox from another online ta offering for the same price as above 20 nights roundtrip crossing in July with 5 nights in a hotel in New York in the middle.

I know I should be happy with what we've booked, and I truly am, but human nature being what it is, part of me is full of regret it didn't appear sooner. And unlike our American travellers, here in the UK once you've paid the deposit that is it.

Give your TA a call. Never know they may be able to change it for you

Babs, I'm so sorry this happened. I guess it is a non-refundable deposit? Would it be worth it to lose the deposit in order to take the longer cruise even if it means you pay 100 euros more per person or something? Or have you paid in full for your cruise already?

Why not call and TRY...... You just might get lucky and they'll have a weak moment and let you change?

Good luck.

Give your TA a call. Never know they may be able to change it for you

Problem is it's 2 different agencies and the one we are booked with is not offering the trip. It would appear to be a 'special' put together by the second firm. Cancellation policy is slightly confusing and could be as much as 50% loss, which we wouldn't be prepared to do :eek: (deposit, not full balance)

Might talk it over with DH but I suspect he will want to leave things as they are. If we do anything be assured I will let you know.

I don't know the amounts you spent, so this is speculation, BUT, since you could cancel your flight, could that money you save cover the cost of the deposit you spent???

In other words, flight is now saved. Use that money you were going to spend anyway on the nonrefundable deposit. That would, theoretically, be the cost to you for the second cruise leg.

This may not work if the airfare is also nonrefundable. Maybe flight could be saved for later with a change fee?

I don't know if any of this will work. You'll have to crunch the numbers, and look into it with a/your TA.

I do hope you can figure out a way to do it because that would be an amazing trip! But, if not, you will still have a wonderful time on the trip you booked! Show yourself whichever trip you go on is the one you were meant to be on!!! Happy cruising!

It's like any other transaction - investing in securities, buying a car - you name it. Few prices are carved in stone, and can go up or down after you buy.

Of course you should check with your agent to see if some sort of switch is possible - or even abandoning some/all of your deposit to book new deal. In any case you do have a deal you were happy with at the time you made it -- so if you cannot improve it now, focus on the happiness you had with the deal.

A forfeit deposit (& possibly more) is one of the negatives of a booking in the UK, Babs.

Though the only difference with the fresh offer is a return flight rather than on the ship, is that correct?

But, just a thought, perhaps at least worth a phone call.

Without mention of the fresh offer, tell TA number one that problems have arisen with the date & you may have to cancel, and if so "would it be possible to switch that deposit to another cruise on some other date".

That way you get two cruises for the price of .............. errrrr ........ two ;)

JB :)

A forfeit deposit (& possibly more) is one of the negatives of a booking in the UK, Babs.

 

Though the only difference with the fresh offer is a return flight rather than on the ship, is that correct?

 

But, just a thought, perhaps at least worth a phone call.

Without mention of the fresh offer, tell TA number one that problems have arisen with the date & you may have to cancel, and if so "would it be possible to switch that deposit to another cruise on some other date".

 

That way you get two cruises for the price of .............. errrrr ........ two ;)

 

JB :)

Actually, the difference is that she avoids the flight on the new offer, in favor of R/T QM2.

OP, perhaps you could call the agency and tell them that you have received a better offer from this other agency and you are thinking of cancelling and booking with the new offer...But could they match the offer? Have them explore options, maybe transferring deposit...If they could engineer it for you, it would increase their commission...EM

To describe DH as a cautious kind of chap is putting it mildly. I have put the idea of cancelling into his head, but sometimes I have to sit back and wait for him to decide that it is HIS ideal that perhaps we could cancel (if you understand what I'm trying to say :))

I'm just happy at the thought of cruising, but life is full of 'if only....' We have friends who would kill just to be able to get away for a couple of days so I guess I know who is the lucky one.

I tell myself that July in New York will be hot and humid and too uncomfortable to rush around sightseeing. Please don't tell me any different:D

............. I have put the idea of cancelling into his head, but sometimes I have to sit back and wait for him to decide that it is HIS ideal that perhaps we could cancel (if you understand what I'm trying to say :))

 

Nope, us blokes on this thread won't understand what you mean :rolleyes: :D

JB :)

ps Essiesmom. "Actually, the difference is that she avoids the flight on the new offer, in favor of R/T QM2".

Yep, instead of flying one way is what I said. Or at least meant to say ;)

Yep, it will be hot and sticky in NYC in July. I lived in Manhattan for ten years, thankfully a long time ago. EM

Yep, it will be hot and sticky in NYC in July. I lived in Manhattan for ten years, thankfully a long time ago. EM

Most of the time, yes; but every now and, in the normally unbearable July doldrums, a cool dry pattern will come in from the northwest (Canada can be good for decent weather once in a long while) and there will be clear skies, sunshine, and soft comfortable breezes.

Yep, it will be hot and sticky in NYC in July. I lived in Manhattan for ten years, thankfully a long time ago. EM

I have been in both NYC and Georgia in July and felt no difference in humidity and discomfort. In fact, I was more dripping wet in Georgia. Is there some Georgia secret I am unaware of?

Hope the op can avoid the flight and get the r/t sail.

Unfortunately it seems to happen a lot, I try to not even look at deals after I book, for just this reason, if I've got a deal that suits me I just live with it.

Have decided to stick with what we've got. We were happy with the deal when we booked it and I'm still happy at time in New York and sailing home on the QM2.

As I said in an earlier post, we have friends who, for a variety of reasons, have not managed any holidays for some time so who am I to moan at what is perceived as a 'lost opportunity'.

However (!), if we win the lottery we will book the roundtrip voyage, so if you will excuse me I'm off to the shops to buy a ticket :D

Good attitude - it is always possible to give yourself a case of "buyer's remorse": just do not second guess yourself, and enjoy what you have.

We typically shop US, UK, and Australian web sites when buying a cruise. We take currency into account.

The prices and the offers can be very different. This past Feb we booked an Australian/NZ cruise. On the day we booked(inside the final payment window) the cruise was 30 percent less expensive on the RCI Australia site that it was on the RCI US site.

DS just booked a Baltic cruise for early August. She is booking in the UK instead of on the cruise line Canada/US site because the UK price is twenty percent less and she gets a $500. OBC from the cruise line that she would otherwise not get.

We are shopping UK and CAN/US sites now for Sept/Oct cruises. We do not bother with any cruise lines who artificially try to force us to book in one specific country. So far, it has always been better for us to book on US site for European cruises but there is always a first time and we always double check.

Just to clarify in your mind, I would call about the new offer and find out exactly what cruises and hotels are included. I could not put together the round trip you were talking about on QM, but maybe you could post this for our curiosity. Also check things like cabin category, because many times the extremely low prices are "starting from" prices and the price is for a guarantee cabin in the lowest category.

NY hotels can have notorious high prices and hotel nights you buy with the cruise company can be triple what you pay if you purchase yourself. There can easily be a significant difference in the price of the hotel room if agent 2 is putting you in a cheap hotel and agent 1 has the hotel room booked through the cruise line. So you also need to compare the hotels.

There is value to the airfare. Most people do not have the time to do transatlantic crossings. On every cruise line except Cunard, the transatlantic cruises are generally extremely cheap. If you read these boards you will see people regularly bemoaning the fact that their airfare to Europe is the same price as the cruise.

After you get all the facts as to what is included or not, I would call your travel agent. I might also post this question, with additional details, on the Cunard boards where the Cunard experts hang out.

We typically shop US, UK, and Australian web sites when buying a cruise. We take currency into account.

 

The prices and the offers can be very different. This past Feb we booked an Australian/NZ cruise. On the day we booked(inside the final payment window) the cruise was 30 percent less expensive on the RCI Australia site that it was on the RCI US site.

 

DS just booked a Baltic cruise for early August. She is booking in the UK instead of on the cruise line Canada/US site because the UK price is twenty percent less and she gets a $500. OBC from the cruise line that she would otherwise not get.

 

We are shopping UK and CAN/US sites now for Sept/Oct cruises. We do not bother with any cruise lines who artificially try to force us to book in one specific country. So far, it has always been better for us to book on US site for European cruises but there is always a first time and we always double check.

Where do you live? It is getting increasingly more and more difficult for people in the UK to book cruises through a US agent and, in some ways, I'm not sure whether it is worth the hassle. Someone will probably tell me that it is worth it but for me, as I live in the UK I would prefer to deal with a UK agent (at least we speak the same language :D)

Where do you live? It is getting increasingly more and more difficult for people in the UK to book cruises through a US agent and, in some ways, I'm not sure whether it is worth the hassle. Someone will probably tell me that it is worth it but for me, as I live in the UK I would prefer to deal with a UK agent (at least we speak the same language :D)

"...THE SAME LANGUAGE..."? At risk of inviting a trans-Atlantic put-down, I'd like to request clarification.

babs135...we live in Canada.

We sometimes book on UK travel sites. Some insist on an address. Fortunately we have an accommodation address that we can use if necessary. Generally it has been financially advantageous to book our cruises through our US on line TA. We have found that packaged European vacations are often much less expensive for us if we purchase them on a UK website...CoOp, Thomson, etc. instead of through a local (to us) TA. In fact, we have even had Co-Op travel return a call to us in Canada to response to a query!

We have also seen, from time to time, variances in airfares. We booked three internal flights in Turkey on a Turkish website (English page). They were significantly less expensive that the NA sites such as Expedia(or Kayak for that matter) for the same flights same seats.

I think the cruise line may make a difference. Not all of them preclude you from booking outside of your country. We made our Australian reservation directly by calling RCI Australia. They had our Diamond number so it was very clear to them that we were Canadian residents. Absolutely no issue with booking the cruise or with the fact that we were not booking in US/Canada. We use a credit card that does not charge the usual 2.5 percent add on fee for FX transactions.

"...THE SAME LANGUAGE..."? At risk of inviting a trans-Atlantic put-down, I'd like to request clarification.

Someone once described the USA and the UK as 'two nations divided by a common language '. We say pavement, you say sidewalk, we say boot (of a car), you say trunk :D:D

No offence intended ;)

I hear you babs.

When we travel in parts of England (north) or Scotland my DW sometimes has trouble understanding what is being said because of the accent. It is like old home week for me because I grew up with the accents. And we are all using the same mother tongue.

I hear you babs.

 

When we travel in parts of England (north) or Scotland my DW sometimes has trouble understanding what is being said because of the accent. It is like old home week for me because I grew up with the accents. And we are all using the same mother tongue.

Many UK accents throw me and on occasion I have been unable to understand or communicate for it. I have found northern european speakers to be no problem in that regard, like Scandinavia where so many speak english clearly.